The present invention relates to the field of measuring the influence of entities (individuals or groups) over an audience on a given topic. Understanding the concerns and issues of customers is critical to business success. The faster a business becomes aware of a problem or concern, the better they can “get ahead” of the problem, by developing solutions and fixes, preferably before most customers even notice. With the advent of social media, it has become easier for companies to monitor feedback and concerns about their products and services. A significant issue is volume; with millions of people posting every day, how does one identify who the influencers are with regard to a given audience and topic? In other words, how does one identify the influencers whose activities/messages are more likely to resonate with certain recipients (such as a demographic subset) of the message?